Gignoux house
The Gignoux House in the Lechviertel of Augsburg is a historic building in the Rococo style and was built in the years 1764/65 by Leonhard Christian Mayer . Until July 2010 it housed the comedy , a venue of the Augsburg Theater .
The history of the Gignoux house
The calico manufactory
Today's viewer of the ornate building on the Vorderen Lech can hardly believe it, but the Gignoux House was originally built as a factory . Georg Christoph Gleich, who married Anna Barbara Gignoux , the widow of the Augsburg calico manufacturer Johann Friedrich Gignoux, in November 1760 was the builder of the representative palace on the Vorderen Lech . Immediately commissioned the architect Leonhard Christian Mayer in 1764 to erect a manufacturing building in Augsburg's Lechviertel. The loans required for this construction, however, exceeded Gleich's ability to work, so that he had to report his bankruptcy in autumn 1770. After his escape from Augsburg, his wife was allowed to continue running the factory on behalf of their children from their first marriage. She finally managed to get the Gignoux House back into her possession.
With the Gignoux House, Leonhard Christian Mayer created a palace-like piece of jewelery in the typical Rococo style, bringing together several existing buildings.
Unlike the factory buildings that were built at the same time and later, the Gignoux House was built within the medieval Augsburg city walls and combined living and working areas - like a traditional craft business - still under one roof.
The current structure consists of two three-storey building wings at right angles to each other with a mansard roof and the historical facade with rocailles by Franz Xaver Feichtmeier . Conspicuously placed on the short wing of the building is a polygonal bay window . The arched gate portal is flanked by Ionic pilasters and is crowned by a triangular gable with decorative vases.
The comedy
As early as 1822, the “Blaues Krügle” restaurant had moved into the Gignoux house. From 1945 onwards, its large hall served as an alternative venue for the large house which was destroyed in the war . After it reopened in 1956, the Augsburg Municipal Theaters began regular performances in the premises that were soon known as "Comedy". Until July 10, 2010, the Gignoux House, in need of renovation, was used as a venue for drama and ballet. At the end of July, the theater finally moved out of the Gignoux house due to the serious construction defects, especially in the area of fire protection.
The future of the Gignoux house
The urgently needed renovation of the historic Gignoux house will cost several million euros. After a long period of uncertainty, the decision was made to build a new playhouse in the immediate vicinity of the city theater. Plans to move the Augsburg city library into a renovated and expanded Gignoux house are off the table with the completion of the new city library on Ernst-Reuter-Platz.
literature
- Gregor Nagler: "There are some among them who would stand out in Rome and Genoa". Augsburg town houses in the 18th century. In: Georg Haindl (editor): The art of living. An 18th century Augsburg adhesive album. Deutscher Kunstverlag, Berlin / Munich 2010, ISBN 978-3-422-07040-0 , pages 30 ff.
Coordinates: 48 ° 22 ′ 1.8 ″ N , 10 ° 54 ′ 3 ″ E